Loading…
The Emergency-era amendment known as the 'Mini-Constitution', which added Socialist, Secular and Integrity to the Preamble and Fundamental Duties to the Constitution.
The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 is the most far-reaching single amendment ever made to the Indian Constitution, which is why it is commonly called the 'Mini-Constitution'. Enacted during the Emergency proclaimed in 1975, it altered the Preamble, added a new Part on Fundamental Duties, shifted subjects from the State List to the Concurrent List, extended the terms of legislatures, curtailed the power of judicial review and gave Directive Principles precedence over certain Fundamental Rights. It was based on the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee. Much of what it did was undone after the Emergency by the 43rd and 44th Amendments and by the Supreme Court in Minerva Mills, but several of its changes — notably the Preamble additions and the Fundamental Duties — remain part of the Constitution today.
Type: LawPreamble — added the words 'Socialist', 'Secular' and 'Integrity', changing the description of India to a 'Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic'
Fundamental Duties — inserted Part IVA with Article 51A, on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee
Concurrent List — transferred five subjects from the State List, including education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals and birds, and administration of justice
Term of legislatures — extended the term of the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies from five years to six
Council of Ministers — made the President bound by the advice of the Council of Ministers under Article 74(1)
Tribunals — inserted Articles 323A and 323B providing for administrative and other tribunals
Judicial review — curtailed the power of courts to review constitutional amendments and to decide on the validity of laws
Frequency: Among the most frequently asked constitutional amendments across UPSC, SSC, banking and railway papers
The amendment was passed while the Emergency was in force, with much of the Opposition in detention, and it represented the high-water mark of parliamentary supremacy over judicial review in India. After the Emergency ended and a new government took office, the reversal came in two stages — the 43rd Amendment restoring judicial powers and the 44th Amendment undoing the extended terms and the weakened safeguards. The judiciary completed the correction in Minerva Mills, holding that limited amending power and judicial review are part of the basic structure.
Kesavananda Bharati establishes the basic structure doctrine, limiting Parliament's amending power
The Emergency is proclaimed
The 42nd Amendment is enacted, on the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee
The Emergency ends and a new government takes office
The 43rd and 44th Amendments reverse many of the 42nd Amendment's provisions, including the six-year term
Minerva Mills v Union of India strikes down parts of the 42nd Amendment, holding judicial review and limited amending power to be basic features
The 42nd Amendment is the constitutional counterpart of the Emergency, and its fate established a principle that has governed Indian constitutional law ever since: Parliament may amend the Constitution, but it may not use that power to destroy the Constitution's basic structure. The amendment attempted, among other things, to place constitutional amendments beyond judicial review altogether, and the Supreme Court's rejection of that attempt in Minerva Mills is what makes the basic structure doctrine operational rather than theoretical. Two of its provisions have nonetheless proved durable and uncontroversial in practice — the Preamble additions and the Fundamental Duties — which is a useful reminder for answers that a single amendment can contain both an overreach and a lasting contribution.
Enacted 1976 during the Emergency; called the 'Mini-Constitution'
Added Socialist, Secular and Integrity to the Preamble
Added Fundamental Duties in Part IVA, Article 51A, on Swaran Singh Committee recommendation
Moved education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals and birds, and administration of justice to the Concurrent List
Extended legislature terms from five to six years — later reversed by the 44th Amendment
Made the President bound by ministerial advice under Article 74(1)
Inserted Articles 323A and 323B on tribunals
Partly struck down in Minerva Mills (1980)
Because it altered so many parts of the Constitution at once — the Preamble, the Fundamental Duties, the distribution of legislative subjects, the term of legislatures and the scope of judicial review — that it amounted to a near-rewriting.
Socialist, Secular and Integrity. The Preamble's description of India became 'Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic'.
The Swaran Singh Committee, whose recommendation led to the insertion of Part IVA and Article 51A by the 42nd Amendment.
Substantially. The 43rd and 44th Amendments undid many of its provisions, including the six-year legislative term, and the Supreme Court struck down parts of it in Minerva Mills (1980). The Preamble additions and Fundamental Duties remain.
Education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals and birds, and administration of justice were shifted from the State List to the Concurrent List.